


A Blind Eye

by devilinthedetails



Category: PIERCE Tamora - Works, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Betrayal, Blind Eye, Family, Father & Son - Freeform, Gen, Politics, Treason
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 21:24:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16167224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/devilinthedetails/pseuds/devilinthedetails
Summary: Gareth discusses the raid behind enemy lines with his son. Set during In the Hand of the Goddess.





	A Blind Eye

A Blind Eye

“You swore to me before you left for the Tusaine border that you’d look after Jon.” Gareth frowned at his son across the desk in his office, wondering if he had turned a blind eye to an excessive amount of boyish mischief that felt compelled to grow like a weed in a neglected garden into high treason. He didn’t consider himself an indulgent father but maybe no father would have been strict enough to curb Gary’s league-wide wild streak. 

“I did look after Jon.” Gary didn’t sound repentant, and the traitor inside Gareth–the part of him that had argued stringently with his king to assume a more aggressive front against Tusaine instead of remaining on one side of the River Drell–didn’t particularly want to hear any remorse for a raid behind enemy lines that had changed the tide of the war in Tortall’s favor. Still a father had to at least pretend not to be proud of a son committing high treason. It was a matter of principle. The king, after all, had been furious enough to confine Jon to his quarters. The least Gareth could do was deliver a stern lecture on loyalty to his son. 

“You accompanied your prince on a raid behind enemy lines after your king had ordered you to remain on the far side of the river.” Gareth arched a sardonic eyebrow. “You’ve an unconventional definition of protecting your prince.”

“Would you have preferred me to not guard Jon on his expedition behind enemy lines?” Gary’s tone was silky as the threads woven into a spider’s web, and Gareth was determined not to fly into them.

“No.” Lips thinning, Gareth itched at a leg that was red as raw meat from his walking around on it all day. When Roanna saw it this evening, she’d no doubt assail him with her apparently not unfounded belief that he was rushing his recovery from his broken bone. She would certainly remind him that he was no longer twenty, and his body would be too weary to argue with her. “I would have preferred you to dissuade your cousin from his foolhardy plan.” 

“You wouldn’t have.” Gary’s eyes were keen as he contradicted Gareth, and his broad beam contained all the confidence of youth. “You wouldn’t want me to abandon Alan or to fail to support Jon. If you’d been at the front, Father, you’d have turned a blind eye to our covert venture.” 

“Perhaps I would have.” Throughout his tenure as Prime Minister, Gareth had cultivated a convenient ability to avoid seeing certain objects under his nose. “I won’t turn a blind eye to further impertinence from you, however.” 

“Then I’d better take my leave before I land myself in a stinking pile of trouble.” Cheerful grin never wavering, Gary slid out of his chair and bowed. “My impertinent spirit is irrepressible, after all.” 

“That’s what I’m afraid of, son.” Gareth sighed, and, resisting the temptation to run his hand through his hair, waved it in dismissal instead. His leg ached too much to berate his boy on loyalty any longer. “Do at least try to restrict your impertinence to targets other than His Majesty who isn’t exactly pleased with your raid behind enemy lines.” 

“It wasn’t my raid, Father”–Gary could no more resist quibbling over details than the sun could alter the course it took in its daily march across the sky–“but I assure you I’ll be the perfect picture of politeness to His Majesty.” 

“On your own head be it if you aren’t.” Gareth stared into his son’s eyes until he was satisfied that Gary would mind his manners around the king. Only then did he repeat his gesture of dismissal. “Begone with you now. I have a king to appease.”


End file.
